In Durham, water that runs into storm drains goes directly to a creek or stream. In this February file photo, water pools on Nutbush Court in Hillsborough. The town has identified Cornwallis Hills as one of the priority areas for stormwater work. Chapel Hill NewsSubmitted

In Durham, water that runs into storm drains goes directly to a creek or stream. In this February file photo, water pools on Nutbush Court in Hillsborough. The town has identified Cornwallis Hills as one of the priority areas for stormwater work. Chapel Hill NewsSubmitted

On Tuesday, the stormwater department tweeted out a photo of a ketchup spill running into a storm drain on Chapel Hill Street. A city crew took the picture and sent it to Rhode, who runs the Twitter site. She sent the picture as a “light-hearted awareness message about things that go down our storm drains.”

The tweet requested that readers “help us ketchup with the person(s) responsible for this spill ....”

“Even though it was just ketchup, we do want to encourage people to not allow anything to go down the storm system,” Rhode said.

The culprit was never caught, but a crew cleaned up the ketchup spill. For cleaning such spills, an absorbent, dry substance like cat litter is recommended, Rhode said.

When the city has to flush lines, the hose has a device that takes the chlorine out of the water, thereby not hurting streams or creeks, Rhode said.

About that unwanted drink: Rhode said the preferred way to dispose of it is in a sink connected to a sewer line. If you see anyone dumping any liquid or object into a storm drain, call the stormwater hotline at 919-560-SWIM (7946).